HARTFORD -- New, tougher academic standards introduced into public school classrooms around the state were on the hot seat Wednesday at the state Capitol, at a public hearing forced by Republican lawmakers.

Two bills are under consideration. One calls for a moratorium on the implementation of the Common Core State Standards while the state Department of Education investigates their impact. The second would put into law new guidelines which would exclude the new Common Core testing from teacher evaluations.

The noontime hearing drew so many people that some were sent to two overflow rooms at the Capitol. More than 120 people signed up to speak.

Part of a national effort to increase academic rigor in the classroom, the new system this year is accompanied by a computer-based test that will be given starting next week. Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor kicked things off Wednesday by telling the Legislature's Education Committee that Common Core was about moving forward, not backward.

"Do we in Connecticut want to be left behind?" Pryor asked. "We risk harming our students if we hold them back."

He was pressed during the hearing by state Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, who favors a phasing in of the new system. She asked why there was a rush to put students in front of a test before the new standards had been fully integrated into the classroom.

Pryor described the test stakes as "deliberately low" and said, "The problem is our youngsters don't get a second shot at this."

State Rep. Gail Lavielle, R-Wilton, also pressed Pryor about the consequences parents would face if they kept their students from taking the tests associated with the new standards. Pryor said the only clear consequence would be to districts that are required to have at least 95 percent of students participate in the testing.

House Minority Leader Larry Cafero, R-Norwalk, who led the charge to hold the public hearing, said he is all for higher standards. Burt he said he has heard story after story about how the roll-out of Common Core is causing anxiety.

"Before we work out the kinks, we should not force this down anyone's throats," Cafero said.

Lawmakers also heard from Sandra Stotsky, a professor emeritus at the University of Arkansas. A leading Common Core critic, Stotsky sat on the committee that validated the standards and was among a handful of members who voted against them. Stotsky said the state should use the moratorium to rewrite the standards, not slow them down, citing several flaws she said exist, particularly in the math standards.

The hearing was preceded by a press conference by school superintendents and others who support the Common Core State Standards, which they say are essential to improving educational outcomes for all students. Joseph Cirasuolo, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, said there is wide support among educators for Common Core.

"Creating higher expectations for students is necessary, especially since Connecticut is the state with the biggest opportunity gap between high- and low-income students," Altieri wrote.

James Manweiler, a teacher in Danbury since 1979, told the committee that education reforms come and go, but Common Core and the testing that goes with it is by far the most detrimental to the learning process.

Barbara Dennis, Stamford teacher, asked the committee not to stop Common Core, but to slow it down until teachers are trained properly.

She also said the frequency of testing has to stop.

"As it's presently being implemented, (the new standards are) hurting our children's education in immeasurable ways," wrote Carmen Andrews, a science specialist at Six to Six Magnet School in Bridgeport.

Andrews called the new teacher evaluation system a "one-size-fits-all draconian mess."